New York Times journalist and 1619 Project founder Nikole Hannah-Jones and her daughter Najya revisited their disagreement over Hannah-Jones’ decision to send Najya to predominantly Black public schools, a choice Hannah-Jones now says she regrets aspects of, in a recent episode of “This American Life.”
Both Hannah-Jones and her 16-year-old daughter appeared on the podcast, where Najya expressed her thoughts about her mother’s viral New York Times Magazine essay, in which Hannah-Jones revisited her decision to choose her daughter’s school in an effort to challenge school segregation.
Though Najya told the podcast that she had never read her mother’s original essay, she called out her mother’s reasoning for sending her to what she considered a lesser-quality school.
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“I didn’t ever agree with her response,” Najya said. “All I know is that I wasn’t having it. I was just like, ‘why? Why am I here?’”
Najya was later allowed to choose her own high school, which was majority White and Asian. While she described the students as “too bougie” with “high egos,” she struggled academically at first, and her parents arranged tutoring and other support as she caught up with her classmates.
During the podcast, Hannah-Jones and her daughter revisited their argument as Najya questioned why her education had to be sacrificed because other Black children were suffering.
“What do we then do? Do we just say, well, there’s nothing I can do? Or do you try in some way to make some intervention? It’s like, why should my child be the one that’s rescued? You should escape what we consign so many other kids just like you to. I just will never feel right about that,” Hannah-Jones said.
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“Why? It makes no sense. You’re talking about, ‘Oh, I’m just going to give you the worst just because it’s not fair that you’ … I didn’t ask to be born. All you’re supposed to do is just put me in a good school. Like, ‘oh, well, I didn’t want to put you in a great school and have you have advantages over other kids.’ Isn’t that what you want? Isn’t that what you want me to have? Is that not a normal thing you want me to have?” Najya responded.
Najya also told Hannah-Jones that “everyone’s not your kid” and that she “can’t save everyone who doesn’t want to be saved.” She denied there were any benefits either to her or the school for being sent there.
“I wanted better. All the kids in my school that wanted better, wanted better. There’s no benefit that came out of you putting me in those schools. There’s no benefit at all. Could you tell me a benefit?” Najya said.
In Hannah-Jones’ essay, she apologized to her daughter for her decision, writing that she felt Najya had been cheated educationally.
“Now I felt overcome with regret. Najya deserved better,” Hannah-Jones wrote. “They all did. But she was mine. This girl, my only child, looked to me to protect her, to give her what she needed to thrive. And I had not chosen her.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Hannah-Jones for comment.
Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation and longtime school choice advocate, previously responded to Hannah-Jones’ essay in a statement to Fox News Digital, arguing parents should prioritize their children’s individual educational needs.
“Parents should put their children first. They should not sacrifice them to a failing government school system in the name of ideology,” DeAngelis said. “Nikole Hannah-Jones now says she regrets putting her ideals ahead of her daughter’s education. That admission is long overdue.”
Hannah-Jones originally told Fox News Digital on Sunday after her essay was published that the broader focus should remain on families who lack the resources to pursue better educational options for their children.
“I hope people concerned about the choice my husband and I made for our daughter will have equal or more outrage for the thousands of Black children whose parents don’t have the resources to send them to better schools,” she said. “As I write in the piece, there is no absolution to be had for any of us.”
